Whilst trying to find books iI have discovered that the passato remoto features a lot. It really annoys me as i find no use for it and my at my stage i want input for vocab iI will use daily.
I have recently read in italian:
La ragazza del treno = the girl on the train.
This book is great for intermediate learners. It features no passato remoto and the vocabulary is simple.
Fabio Volo - ‘Quando tutto inzia’ & ‘è tutta vita’
Great short little books about romance… Captivating enough. Nice simple vocab too. And no passato remoto!
oops,
tried to comment before, I guess it didn’t work.
I understand your concern.
People don’t commonly use passato remoto in colloquial speech.
However, two caveats
- the more south you go, the easier it is to find people who use it, I am not sure, this may reflect also in literature, look at the latitude where the authors are from;
- it certainly is a method to make your ability to describe actions in the past more dynamical.
The latter point may be why you still encounter it in literature, but it’s much rarer in everyday speech. I can say I have been guilty of not using it, but I think it is important to learn when it is appropriate to use it.
Now, on the few occasions I actually speak my native language, I make an effort to think about it.
So, summary, you could certainly get by without it in everyday life, but I think it’s another important component of the language, which hopefully won’t disappear.